1 Corinthians 6 – Pastor Brian

This morning was one of those mornings where God broke my heart and pointed me in a very distinct direction of thought. It actually started yesterday as I read 1 Corinthians 5:1 “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you.” The topic of sexual immorality in the church and around us in the culture is more evident then ever.

As I was driving to work today the podcast that I chose to listen to is among my favourites. It was Terry O’Reilly’s “Under the Influence.” Many of you already know how much I enjoy this show but this particular episode I contemplated skipping over because of the title. “Strange Bedfellows: Advertising and Porn.” Reluctantly I continued to listen, and as I listened I became greatly saddened at the pace of which we are descending into as a culture that I find difficult to find any hope.

As I continued to listen I was reminded about the passages that I read this morning (verse 13) “the body is not meant for sexual immorality,” and (verse 18) “FLEE from all sexual immorality.” In these passage Paul is referencing intercourse with a prostitute but we have to see beyond this act and note the word ALL in verse 18. ALL SEXUAL IMMORALITY is everything outside the bonds of marriage sexually and includes PORNOGRAPHY. When Paul says to FLEE, he is referencing the fact that SEXUAL IMMORALITY is going to be chasing every single one of us and we need to be proactive in getting as far away from it as possible.

The sad thing is….we are not only NOT FLEEING…..we are not even trying to escape it….please check out the stats from the episode…but only listen to it if you are fully prepared to do something about it. Now some may say that this is not an episode that I should be distributing as a Pastor, but please keep in mind this show aired originally on CBC RADIO at 11:30am on a SATURDAY.

As AdWeek magazine pointed out, there has been a generational shift with regard to the stigma of watching porn.

According to the Globe & Mail, a survey showed that 40% of Canadian teenage boys in grades 7 to 11 frequently view porn. That means some of those boys are as young as 11 years old.

Kids no longer have to be 18 years or older to access adult sites. And when they grow up surrounded by it, it becomes normalized.

As a result, young consumers don’t consider it taboo. And the majority of advertisers want young consumers.

Now for Parents who are shocked by this we need to begin to be proactive with our kids and talk to them as early as late elementary. Brett Ullman has a great website on this topic and on it he poles Christians and two of the most shocking parts of the results to me is that 50% of Christians view porn online at least monthly and 25% feel they are addicted to it. The stat that parents need to soak in is that nearly 90% of Christians polled had parents that did not bring up the topic of sex in the house.

So for take-home….Pray about this earnestly and allow God to break your heart

If you struggle or know someone that is struggling in the area of sexual immorality please make use of the resources available at this site

As a parent…talk to your kids.

Talk to them about their iPods, cell phones, or mobile devices. Most online pornography is viewed through these hand-held devices….especially with kids.

Model it….love your spouse and avoid seeking outside pleasures.

Setup a filter for your home internet https://www.qustodio.com/en/

Prepare your kids for the time when a friend says “Hey, Check this out….” Let your precious CHILD know that their best approach is to ask before viewing. With that they will be FLEEING ALL SEXUAL IMMORALITY.

For me, this is the start of a continued conversation that we all need to be learning about.